Alex!
by Complicated-little-Jellie
Summary: Sequel to the story: Alex?. What if he wasn't dead? What if everything has changed ... for everyone.
1. Chapter 1

**I**** know I have said I would post this after Christmas, but I'm gonna post this, and then (sorry this is cruel) keep it up after new year! or before that, so check for updates! anyway...its short but...still...:) **

David McCathy stared at the woman behind the desk. He had a weird sense of déjà vu here. 8 years after his first time in the office of Alan Blunt, the head of MI6, he found himself back again, to find that Tulip Jones was now the head. It better not be for round 2 of what happened last time, he couldn't handle that again…

He was currently seated behind the desk, waiting for 3 people to turn up. He hadn't been told who they were, just that they would be coming.

The first person to come was a medium-height, dark brown haired man with muscles. He looked tired, and barely spoke.

The second was a tallish man with chestnut/red hair and brown eyes, also with muscles, but less noticeable. He also looked tired, the purple bags under his eyes more evident on his paler skin.

The third and last person to come was a tall man, with crystal blue eyes and brown hair that was short and wavy on the top of his head. He still looked tired, yet his charismatic eyes sparkled unlike the other two's, and he tried to put on a smile. Inside, he might ache, painfully, but outside you could never see anything had happened to this man.

But things had. Things that he didn't think would happen when he signed up for his job.

Yes, the 3 men that entered were SAS soldiers and ex k-unit members Wolf, Fox and Eagle.

EX K-unit members.

They had tried to keep their unit together, training for an extended 2 months, but they failed.

Wolf stayed on at the SAS and became the leader of the newly created X-Unit when k-unit disappeared, and became a legendry soldier in Iraq. Fox decided to just go to MI6, and became one of their best agents. Snake became the head medic in Afghanistan, after spending 8 months in the field there. Eagle spent a year in the fire brigade, before deciding that it was just too low profile for him, and therefore re-joined to the normal army. After that he switched to the Navy and became the captain of the S., a great military battle ship.

The legendry K-Unit, broken down and spread about.

And now, after not seeing each other since their reunion, roughly 4 years ago, they were all in one place. A place that brought back so many memories, ones they had tried to erase from their memories. The last thing they all thought before they fell asleep; the first thing they think about in the morning.

Their ultimate failure. A loss so great and wounding that none of them ever got over it.

Alexander Jonathon Rider.

"K-Unit. Welcome to MI6. I'm Tulip Jones, the head if you didn't know. I trust you are all well?" she said, startling them all from their deep and seemingly dark thoughts.

They all nodded and didn't speak.

"Gentlemen, I have some rather unsettling news for you. But first, there is a mission that we think you would be perfectly suited for."

Snake spoke up. "Mrs Jones, with all due respect, why do you think that an old SAS unit that hasn't been operational for 7 and a half years is going to successfully complete a mission?" he had a bitter edge to his voice.

"What Snake means, is why would you re-unite us and make us go on a mission together when you can just use a unit that is currently fully operational and waiting for missions?" Eagle piped in.

"Well, that's just the thing. I am bringing back an old unit, re-uniting once best friends soldiers and sending you on a mission together because of what the mission is about." She replied, still not giving anything away.

"And what is it about?" Wolf asked impatiently.

"Brace yourselves gentlemen." She said, and Fox really wanted to strangle her right now.

"Alex Rider isn't dead."

**can you tell me what you think?:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**__I know it took a while, but i have finally posted this chapter! i think it is a filler chapter, but im not sure. it hasnt exactly got that much action in this chapter to be honest (but there will be action! i promise! ) yeah...so please review and see if there's any mistakes, improvements i can make etc. its really helpful. also tell me what you want to happen in the story, how you want the characters to develop and if you want any character deaths! im all ears ! enjoy!:P**

**A/N this story is technically set in 2019, but imagine its just like it is today...please x**

_"Well, that's just the thing. I am bringing back an old unit, re-uniting once best friend's soldiers and sending you on a mission together because of what the mission is about." She replied, still not giving anything away._

_"And what is it about?" Wolf asked impatiently._

_"Brace yourselves gentlemen." She said, and Fox really wanted to strangle her right now._

_"Alex Rider isn't dead."_

The reactions from the four different people were, well, certainly different.

Eagle's grin faded, his sparkling blue eyes nearly popping out of his head. There was something close to a depressed smile on his face.

Wolf's vein in his head was doubling in size, and he looked ready to punch something-or someone.

Fox felt … a bit… lost. It just felt weird that they had been mourning someone that had never died. But he hid his emotions, for he wasn't MI6's best agent for nothing.

Snake was numb. Numb numb numb. His whole world felt like it had just fallen off a cliff.

As a whole, several questions were running through their military trained minds, like 'What!' and 'where!' and 'How!' and 'Why!'

Trained minds questions just like that.

Mrs Jones wasn't sure how to continue, for all the men seemed to be in different frames of minds. But then Snake spoke.

"How?" the one word seemed to voice one of all the men's questions, for they all tuned in somewhat.

"He was shot in the heart, as you witnessed" they all flinched at the thought "but as he was a child, and it was exactly 2cm above his heart, he survived it. We believe he was in a comatose like state for approximately 2 weeks. Scorpia…brain washed and trained him." she didn't quite know what to say next.

"Trained him for what?" Fox asked miserably. He knew the answer before the words left her mouth, he was a spy.

"Alex Rider; aged 13…assistant to the world's best assassin, Yassen Gregorovitch."

They all winced this time.

"When do we leave?" Snake asked, his voice sad.

Tulip Jones remembered back to when Blunt first asked them to look after Rider. Their interest, their indecision, how only Snake dared to question Wolf's decision as leader.

However, now, there was no obvious leadership. Each had different positions now, authorities, responsibilities.

Eagle, once just another member of the unit, was the captain of a navy battle ship, and was now used to be respected and obeyed. Wolf stayed to be leader of a SAS unit, and therefore would expect leadership. Snake was now a head medic in a warzone, so he was used to being obeyed, but not on the field. Fox was an agent, and therefore he wasn't used to being told what to do whilst on the field, so the team dynamics would be difficult to rebuild.

2 expecting leader ship, one used to just used to being obeyed and another not used to being told what to do, quite the opposite.

She could tell from the way Eagle sat that he was now an authoritive figure, but at the same time so was Wolf.

But she had already planned ahead for this.

"Gentlemen. We have agents infiltrating Scorpia. In two weeks' time approximately, Rider's location will be known. Until then, you need to train and decide who will be the leader of your group." She saw how Wolf and Eagle looked at each other, testing one another with just their eyes.

"I am sending you for two weeks training at Brecon Beacons. You leave tonight at 6. I assume you can all get there in one car?"

Warily, they nodded.

"Good. You have two hours."

Two hours later saw the 4 men sitting in Wolf's army issue truck. Obviously, Wolf was driving, Eagle called shot gun; Snake sat back right and Fox back left.

Eagle was having trouble thinking about the four of them as a unit, as they were all so divided. They had had occasional reunions, once a year events that got so awkward that after 4 years they gave up on the idea all together. Those reunions had also been difficult to arrange. With Wolf and Snake on Iraq three quarters of the year, he himself at sea 11 months a year and Fox taking off at any moment, simple was not the word ever used.

He dearly hoped that this training would reunite them, fix the broken bonds. He felt that was the first step to picking up the pieces of his old life. The life he loved so dearly. He missed that life, and however much he loved his current job in the navy, he missed K-unit so much.

He wished that they'd never crumbled to pieces. But he never regrets accepting to look after Alex.

Instead, he blamed himself. In theory, it was his fault. If he had shot better, been faster, the innocent child would never had been shot and taken.

Wolf felt rather self-conscious right now. He was in his car, with his old unit, and he was driving. He didn't want to think of k-unit as his old unit, because however much he trusted x-unit, he missed k-unit so much, his old life he loved so much. K-unit had something that no other unit ever had. Certainly something that wasn't in x-unit.

He felt wary. The years on the battle field did that to a man. He was determined to make this training work though, determined to save themselves.

Fox was wary, he was jumpy, and he was troubled. Only a week ago he returned from a difficult mission, and always after missions he would be jumpy for a good 2 weeks afterwards. That was a difficult part. He missed spending time with his unit in-between training and missions, he missed being on the field and having constant company and back up, never having to be alone. He missed Eagle's childish behaviour and the constant hyper activeness. He missed Snake's mothering, moddycoddling and over protectiveness. He missed Wolf's grumpiness, grouchiness and his constant scowl. He could go on forever about how much he missed them, but he didn't think he would ever find a way to say it to them.

Snake felt…weird. He hadn't exactly been in action recently, for he had been the head medic in the main camp in Afghanistan. Saving lives, not fighting for his own. In a lot of ways, he was glad they were coming to Brecon Beacons. It was a place to build teamwork and to train to save your life and others. For him, it was to attempt to put back together what they had left of their friendship, and to refresh his training. His problem though, was that he was feeling….old. At 38 years of age and not doing any real fighting for over 5 years had taken its toll. He hoped that was a reversible change to himself.

And the one thing that stuck to all of their minds was Alex. What he looked like, his personality, how he acted, what he did. Bright, happy memories. They seemed like an overly bright flashlight on the dull grey day it was today.

After a long while of silence, they pulled up at the white mansion 10 miles from the camp. It was the furthest they could go in their car, before they'd get a jeep up to the camp. Of course, they weren't allowed in the mansion, that was for heads and important people, however important they really were, so they had to go round to the back and sit in the shed like building until someone came.

They were told to expect a truck at 9, and it was 8:30- Wolf was an impatient and fast driver.

They watched the rain pouring over the Welsh plains and heard the constant pitter patter on the tin roof. It felt like old times.

The truck came 10 minutes early, and they all hopped in. the driver was obviously a new trainee, for he was young and very nervous; they could tell by the sweat rolling down his forehead, even though it was only 10 degrees.

It was a bumpy ride, one taken in more silence.

Eagle hoped that it wasn't all gonna be like that…silence silence silence.

But somehow, he knew it would all work out.

He would find Alex, he owed it to the boy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! the next chapter! it switches between alex and k-unit. hope you like it and please review!**

_it was a bumpy ride, one taken in more silence._

_Eagle hoped that it wasn't all gonna be like that…silence silence silence._

_But somehow, he knew it would all work out._

_He would find Alex, he owed it to the boy. _

Snake looked around the barrack. Wolf was polishing his favourite Browning hand pistol, Fox was reading a novel, which looked to be written in Polish, it was his favourite that he always used to read when he wasn't in the mood for talking, and Eagle was sketching the view outside the window opposite him in his favourite sketch book. Snake was sure that if he looked through that notebook, all the sketches would be of the view out that window or the lake. It was his favourite no talking hobby.

He himself had the latest medical hand book. It was just like old times, felt like they had gone back 9 years in time. The only thing that felt different was the atmosphere you could tell that everyone was stiff, and watching everyone through the corner of their eyes.

K-Unit continued like that for half an hour, before they went to do some team building exercise; the spider nets. It was a complicated 1mile course which consisted of tangle rope that you had to help your team through. It was on a 1m wide plank that if you were to fall off, it was a 10 metre drop into orange and green goo. Oh, and you were tied to your teammates by one of your wrists.

It was a difficult task, normally used to train the new recruits when they weren't used to their teammates, so to say that k-unit were slightly embarrassed to have to use it was, an understatement. However, they all knew the importance of forming their team bonds again.

It wasn't just that they knew that they needed it, they _wanted_ it, just so badly.

That was the thought going through all their heads as they left through the door.

* * *

><p><p>

Niall followed Yassen through the busy San Francisco Street, cap on head and dark shades on. He was wearing some designer jeans, and a rugby t-shirt; red and yellow striped, his favourite type. And of course some converse. His dyed black hair and electric green contacts hid his true identity, but he was already tanned so no need for fake that.

He knew who he really was, of course he did. His real name is Alex John Rider, son of John and Helen, both once members of MI6; the traitors who tried to destroy he himself. Yassen told him this, so it had to be true. He actually has blonde hair, honey/golden blonde; and chocolate brown eyes. Apparently just like his good for nothing father, Yassen said that's why he should dye it, and so he did. And his name…well, it was the name chosen by his father, and of a past that he was told not to remember.

Yassen told him that when he was around 4 or 5, MI6 tried to started and train him, which why Scorpia saved him, a debt to his mother, one of their best agents.

Not that he really cared. To be honest, all he cared for was that he pleased Yassen. If he didn't please him and things correctly, then he would be punished, he knew this. He had known it since he was 5.

And now he was 13, and he felt he had achieved so much in such a short space of time. He was a black belt in karate, he could walk around and move like a ninja, he could speak French, Spanish, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Greek, Dutch and Chinese. Not to forget Afrikaans, a personal favourite. He is qualified in base jumping, parachuting, diving, skiing, snowboarding, piloting, and those were just to name a few. He was talented, athletic and clever as well. And a natural linguist.

And soon to be the world's youngest assassin.

In 3 weeks he was to be given a mission, to kill someone.

He wasn't quite sure what to think.

Everything he thought seemed to be known by Yassen, in fact when he was 7 he used to think that Yassen could actually read his mind, but he brushed that off at 9. So he was careful to even think that he didn't want to kill, but at the same time…

…was he a killer? Really?

He wasn't quite sure it was in his nature to kill.

But no one needed to know that.

They stopped at a café, and Yassen smiled at him. It was that same cold smile he was used to, with an air of adoration. Niall/Alex smiled back in the same manner, and ordered a coke.

A sudden course of panic suddenly ran through his entire body, and so he looked at the floor whilst the memories flooded through his mind.

Sometimes he felt like this, like something was missing from his young life. A red headed woman and four men seemed to constantly hide at the back of his memory, but as always, he brushed them off and looked at Yassen, waiting for the next instruction, just like he had been trained to do.

* * *

><p>By the end of the course, Eagle was in tears of laughter, Snake and Fox were both smiling, and a gooey bottom Wolf was frowning, but happiness was obvious in his handsome features.<p>

They had all tried really hard, putting their best efforts into it, but near the very end, Eagle's foot got caught, sending him sprawling near the edge, only to send Wolf flying over to him and over the side. As there was a long drop, the man only fell half the way, but then Snake and Eagle both went over, earning Wolf a half dunk in the horrible goo. Fox managed to grab on, and after a long struggle, they managed to get back to the course and continue to the end.

So of course they would laugh.

Snake was feeling the pull of this already, so he planned to do at least 10km a day running. He wouldn't miss out on this and he certainly wouldn't fail. Sergeant had said that they'll have tests on everything next week, so he had a week to work his hardest.

And work hard he promised he would do.

Wolf was enjoying this, to say the least. He had missed interactions with the rest of the unit, and training. He really enjoyed being in Brecon Beacons. Sure, it was hell, but he loved the scenery and being with the boys. Well, they were more like older men now, he guessed. He himself was 33, and Snake had always been about 5 years older than him…wow! 38! He vowed now to help Snake if he were to need it; however he seemed more than capable on the first course.

Fox hadn't felt so relaxed in such a long time. Being around the rest of the unit made him feel comfortable, and his eyes weren't constantly shifting as much as they usually do. It hadn't even been a day! Yes, he was glad Mrs Jones had done this. He knew he didn't need the training side of all this, he kept himself fit obviously, but he needed the teambuilding stuff, the most important side of this.

Eagle hadn't laughed so hard in a long time, and he was someone who liked to laugh. He had only begun to laugh again two years ago, before that the cloud of guilt hanging over his head was just too heavy.

Still laughing, he and the unit, following Wolf, headed for the dreaded obstacle course. The only thing on Eagle's mind was afterwards; the new cook was really good.

Half an hour later found Niall sitting in Yassen's car. They were driving to Jacksonville, for reasons he didn't know. He knew why they weren't flying; Niall had never been on a plane, a big, public one where you went through like Heathrow. Yassen said it was too risky to do so. But Niall had gone to private air fields in Italy and been taught to fly planes there.

But he didn't know why they had to drive so goddamn far; it was pointless. It was well over a day of travelling, and he didn't like being strapped to a seat by the seatbelt. Often Yassen had to force him into the car; he just couldn't stand the confined space and the whole strapped down thing. It messed up his head.

The sun was setting as they crossed the golden gate bridge, the sky a beautiful shade of pinks, the sun deep magnificent orange. Natural perfection in his opinion, he admired the natural world's beauty so very much. The bridge went north, but Yassen often took detours for their safety. They were, after all, criminals. Although…..Niall had never actually done anything criminal, he was just practically raised by one.

Niall lent his head against the side of window and watched the water speed by. An Eagle then flew by his window, and he longed to be that creature. It was powerful, at the top of its game. It was agile and streamlined, yet smooth and glided with the winds, but it could stand up for its self. So graceful, a born predator, to be feared and to be admired. It could fly where ever it wanted, do what it wanted, and make the best of its life.

Oh, how he longed to be like that; free and independent.


	4. Chapter 4

Niall and Yassen had been driving for over 2 hours, and neither had spoken the whole time. It was pitch black outside, and only the thrum of the engine and the occasional flash of car headlights that would illuminate them for no more than a second would disturb them.

The whole time, Niall couldn't help but think of that Eagle. His head was messed up….

He wanted to please Yassen, and do whatever he said

But he wanted to live a normal life

He didn't want to live like other teenagers

But he wanted one friend

He wasn't sure if he was ready to kill

But he knew he had too, and there was a good cause

He wanted to be the very best of Scorpia

But weren't they a criminal organisation?

He could go on and on…

Ah! His head was so confused, he was so confused. He didn't know which was up, which was down. Was he a good person, he was an assassin and they were good because they rid the bad people. The men that Yassen killed were MI6 spies, rogue agents, drug dealers, overly rich men, just to name a few. He killed them because they were a problem to the greater good; aka Scorpia.

And that what was he was soon to achieve, to kill someone.

To take a life.

Looking back on the course at dinner, Snake could happily say that they did rather well.

Eagle had regained his composure, and they had started off well enough. Over the 4m high wall, something that they really didn't have much issue with, though Snake did have issues that he pulled through on.

Then was more nets, like the ones they had conquered earlier, only of course this time they weren't tied up to each other so this complicated task was considerably easier.

Next was the climbing wall covered in water, which proved just as difficult as they remembered, but none the less they all completed quickly because they helped each other. That was the building blocks of the SAS's methods; teamwork.

Then there was a 30cm pole they had to each cross, whilst being shot at by censored paintball guns on automatic. So balancing and dodging at the same time to try and avoid falling into the unknown green slime below.

Once over that they had to go down the zip wire, which was probably the easiest of all the stages. Each of the men had all missed the sensation of going down the zipwire.

And then they had to army crawl through the muddy tires that spread as far as they could see, and it was in a valley that they were pretty sure spread for miles and miles. The result was easy to guess. They went in with the normal dark green camo outfits, and came out in completely brown mud that had managed to get everywhere.

And he means everywhere. Unspoken of places included.

Although going through the course seemed meaningless to them, it had already started building them back up as a team. The laughter they had had, the times they had had to help each other.

They were certain that it was working; they were on track to saving Alex, to change back what he had become now.

Snake looked down at his mush, and took a happy bite; happy to be there.

Later on, they were all in their cabin; talking about one thing and then another, but the conversation slipped into something they had barely mentioned for about 8 years.

"…How different do you think he is?" Fox wondered out loud, knowing all too well that they had to speak at one time.

"He's an assassin now-" Wolf started.

"Not yet. We can stop it" Eagle countered immediately.

"-Yes, plans to be an assassin. And he's 13, he was like 4 or 5 when he last saw us. And he's been with Gregorovitch for it all. He probably won't even remember us. They've brought him up on brainwashing." Wolf growled. He talked like Alex was just another Scorpia assassin, with distaste and dishonour.

Eagle jumped to his feet, fists clenched and a furious look on his face. "DON'T SAY THAT! YOU'RE SAYING IT LIKE IT'S TOO LATE FOR HIM, LIKE HE'S A KILLER! HE'S A CHILD, HE'S OUR LITTLE AL! REMEMBER THAT ADORABLE LITTLE KID WE ALL DOTED ON! YEAH WELL THAT'S STILL SOME WHERE IN THAT KID! WERE GONNA FIND HIM AND LOOK AFTER HIM SO DON'T FRICKING TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT!" He exploded, face red.

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! HE'S SCORPIA RIGHT NOW! LOOK AT ALL THOSE YEARS THAT HE COULD'VE ESCAPED, THE KID WOULD BE BETTER THAN GREGOROVTICH AT RUNNING AWAY ANY DAY AND GREGOROVTICH IS THE WORLDS BEST ASSASIN THAT'S NEVER BEEN CAUGHT! HE NEVER EVER CAME BACK ONCE. EVEN RECENTLY WHEN HE'S BEEN OLDER AND MATURER!" He practically screamed at his team mate.

Snake hit his head against the wall. K-unit still had a long way to go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello readers! I'm glad I've finally updated! It's short but its one of those chapters that you know you need to have for the purpose's of the story. **

**I'd just like to bore you (not literally but you probably won't read this bit anyway) by saying THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed my story! I love getting reviews and I would actually love to reach 100 reviews by chapter 10! PLEASE!**

_Ah! His head was so confused, he was so confused. He didn't know which was up, which was down. Was he a good person, he was an assassin and they were good because they rid the bad people. The men that Yassen killed were MI6 spies, rogue agents, drug dealers, overly rich men, just to name a few. He killed them because they were a problem to the greater good; aka Scorpia. _

_And that what was he was soon to achieve, to kill someone._

_To take a life_

Niall awoke with a start, hitting his head against the side of the care. He rubbed his head discreetly; he could see a sly smile on Yassen's face, but of course he was emotionless apart from that. The cold distant look in his eyes was what he had grown up looking at, for as long as he remembered.

He knew he shouldn't, no couldn't, ever complain, because Yassen had looked after him from such a young age and looked after him well. He had hardly ever gone hungry unless he had deserved it. For example, when he had failed at that karate test. He hadn't been quick enough, his fault obviously, he could've done it; succeeded, if he had tried hard enough. But he hadn't, and after that consequence, he was sure not to do it ever again. His arm had been in a sling for months and he had had a nasty bruise on his cheek for almost a month. He had been 7 at the time, but he had learnt the lesson from the pain, and he hadn't failed again yet.

It was still dark outside; so he couldn't have been asleep too long. He knew they still had a long way to go. He didn't particularly like to be in confined spaces for too long, he felt like an animal trapped in a cage.

He coughed quietly, trying to hide the wince. His chest really hurt from the cough, and he wheezed slightly afterwards. Unfortunately, Yassen's head had snapped up the second he had sucked in the air for the breath.

"Niall. Glove box. Now" he commanded, his voice having that edge of … something that you knew never to mess with.

"I'm fine" he argued, coughing slightly again.

"No. you're not you have got a cough and maybe a chest infection and that means you're health isn't perfect. Which means what?" he asked, his tone not changing.

"I can't run fast, my stamina is down and it's bad if we need to make a quick escape and we have a job to do soon and I need perfect health for it" Niall recited, as he had been told for such a long time.

"Exactly. So do it or I'll pull over and give it to you myself" Yassen growled menacingly.

"Yes sir" he muttered, reaching for the stuff.

Being someone who moved around a lot, that being an understatement, he had usually had to eat whatever food was in the 1 star (or sometimes less) motel. Generally grotesque stuff that had at first made him squirm. He had just gotten used to it. All the disgusting tastes and smells.

But this cough mixture was just the worst ever; worse than any other thing he had ever tasted. The sight of the bottle even repulsed him now. It had a flower on it, and a name he didn't care to read.

He just knew it was the worst.

As slow as he could; he opened the bottle, and poured the icky liquid like stuff into the lid of it. Holding his nose, he poured the contents into his mouth, and in one gulp, swallowed all of it.

He couldn't help but make a face, and almost retched it up again. Why did it have to taste so god damn fricking bad?

He could've sworn that Yassen let out a silent chuckle in the corner of his eye, but it was gone as soon as it came and Niall wondered if he was just imagining things because of that stuff he had just had. Yassen barely ever laughed, and when he did it wasn't normally for humour purposes, but for the whole 'I'm in pain but I'm not going to say it purpose' when he had sustained a bad injury and laughed it off whenever Niall had asked him if it hurt.

He'd given up asking when he was 10, because he knew he'd only ever get the cold laugh that he didn't like hearing.

**THANKS FOR REACHING! HOPE YOU ENJOYED. PLEASE JUST LEAVE A little REVIEW? PLEASE?xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long. life's been busy and I lost my laptop. hope you enjoy! sorry its short, but I reckon thats my style you know? short.**

_He could've sworn that Yassen let out a silent chuckle in the corner of his eye, but it was gone as soon as it came and Niall wondered if he was just imagining things because of that stuff he had just had. Yassen barely ever laughed, and when he did it wasn't normally for humour purposes, but for the whole 'I'm in pain but I'm not going to say it purpose' when he had sustained a bad injury and laughed it off whenever Niall had asked him if it hurt. _

_He'd given up asking when he was 10, because he knew he'd only ever get the cold laugh that he didn't like hearing._

Once again, Niall woke in the hot car. The window were up, tinted so no one could get in. but it was getting hotter and hotter in the car. Well, they were getting further south and closer to sunny Jacksonville.

He coughed, pleased to hear it didn't sound anywhere near as chesty as before. In the drivers seat, Yassen gave a satisfied smirk. Niall's throat felt so dry, like he hadn't drunk for days.

"Have you got any-" he started, but was cut off.

"On the backseat. There's a ham baguette there too" Yassen told him curtly.

Niall reached round and sure enough there was a carried bag for a Walmart, with a large water bottle, strawberry water; his favourite! And a baguette. Ham was his favourite too.

As he started eating his baguette, he started thinking. Not of the things to come, but of what he already had and what had already happened.

Probably any parent would say Yassen was a bad parental figure. Sure he had trained Alex from the moment he had been in the man's care, but he was good. Niall had become independent, unshy, respectful and certainly not unconfident. For a 13 year old boy, it would seem he had the best of role models. And Yassen did about him, it was obvious he did. Niall had never without food for more than 2 days, whatever situation they were in. he had barely eve gotten ill because he was always healthy. And small things Yassen did, like getting him the strawberry flavoured water. This was a stubble sign that screamed he did care.

Which brought Niall to confusion. He knew, deep down, hidden from even the keenest of trained eyes, that killing was bad. He wanted to think on the surface that killing the bad men in the world to make the world better; would benefit the world.

But he just quite couldn't bring himself to believe this anymore. Obviously, he wouldn't let his indecision of morals show to Yassen. There would undoubtedly be a punishment for that.

Another thing, something that had always been in the back of his mind and always bothering him slightly, was the men and the red headed woman in his flashbacks. They nagged at the back of his mind like something he knew he should know but couldn't.

He finished his baguette and took a long drink from the strawberry flavoured water, before sitting deep into the car chair and watching the other cars roll by.

Some kind of car, he didn't know the make of it, rolled by. In it was a middle aged man, a woman in the passenger seat he concluded to be his wife, and two sleeping children in the back. One a boy that looked about 5, and a girl, looking about 3.

He wished he could've had that kind of upbringing. He let out a longing sigh, resting his head against the cold window.

He didn't see the flash of emotion that passed through Yassen's features. It was sorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**How's that? 2 chapters in one night? Yeah its probably a record for me. dont forget to review!:) hope you enjoy!**

Snake sat in the Chinook, a grim smile on his face. Grim, for he was tired. And he had a 36 hour helicopter flight ahead of him. But smiling all the same. Why? They had done it. K-Unit had survived the course without killing themselves, or each other. They were all assessed healthy and fully skilled; it was like nothing had changed.  
>But it had, they all knew that. There was a different atmosphere in the air now. A tension that never ceased to exist. It was fine for him and Fox, they got on with it, knowing things like that just took time.<br>But one source of the tension was Eagle and Wolf. Over the past 3 weeks or so, they had been at each others throats on more than one occasion. Snake thought it was because they were both the most stubborn.  
>But Fox knew better. He had seen it on his missions before. Both of them were leaders, captains of teams, and now in the same Unit, it was difficult. They had assigned Wolf as their captain, as he was before, but Fox could tell that Eagle wanted leader ship. One example, when they were doing an exersize, Wolf told them a strategy they would use and Eagle disagreed and they had started arguing, then fighting, throwing actual punches.<br>He knew that it could be a serious problem when they were out on the field, they couldn't afford weakness like that, for the enemy would pick up on that and use it against them.  
>Fox rested his head against the wall of the helicopter, the thrumming racing through his mind and casting him into a eventful slumber, dreams of past missions, especially the most recent one.<p>

Snake was Looking but not seeing at the wall, his mind far away, when Wolf came and sat next to him. Eagle was in the front room with the pilot.  
>"Snake?" Wolf asked uncertainly as he readjusted himself to comfort in the seat.<br>"Yeah?" he answered, focusing his attention on the leader in front of him. Wolf had been his friend, a best friend even, before everything had happened 9 years ago. They had met at base camp, before they got into the army. They had fought along side each other for 2 years before signing up for the SAS, and then getting into the unit together. He knew Wolf well, but recently he hadn't quite known what to think of him. They had all changed.  
>But the expression on Wolf's face was one he knew well: anxiety he was trying to hide by the hard look on his face.<p>

"You don't he's gone completely bad do you?" Wolf asked, his voice hard like his face, but the worry was there, an undertone in his deep voice.  
>"I dont know Wolf, I just don't know" he replied sadly, before turning to face the other way and closing his eyes, he too falling into light but troubled slumber.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey Readers, here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy :)**

The sun was bearing down on Alex as he lay on the roof of the car. His head rested in his hands and his eyes were closed, absorbing the blissful vitamin D. He tanned easily, and from spending much time in hot places like the Caribbean and the Middle East, he was quite tanned. He had his favourite khaki shorts on that came just above his knee and his red and yellow striped English Rugby shirt.

They were in Arizona; he knew that much from the heat and the red, bare desert surrounding him, but he hadn't seen a sign for over 2 hours. They were on a dirt path, a less used route into the state.

He yawned and stretched out further, his lanky but well-built arms and legs sprawled out on the roof. He was light enough to lay on it without any problems. Yassen had gone to meet some guys that he had arranged to speak with. Alex knew better than to enquire. He knew just to keep his mouth shut and not 'hear' anything. And if he did, it was wise to say nothing. Most would kill if they knew what kind of information he knew.

The guys and Yassen came back, and he turned onto his stomach to see what they looked like. They were wearing leather jackets and jeans, despite the weather, and sunglasses, which was more like it. They looked ugly, and probably not the type that had a problem to shoot someone that got in their way, judging by the gun shaped bulge on both their left hips.

He huffed and rolled back on to his back, listening out and breathing lightly. They approached the car.

"Niall. Get down." Yassen instructed. Alex did as he was told. In all honesty, he still preferred the name he was born with, despite his horrid parents, but for security reasons, he was to go under the name of Niall. He secretly preferred Alex. Yassen could never know this.

He slid off the roof of the car and went to stand by Yassen, a blank expression on his face.

Ugly guy number one, who had a scar on his forehead, looked him up and down and said; "Looks like you keep him in shape Gregorovitch. Good work. He'll need it." He laughed cruelly.

"Yes…you agree to fly us over to Europe?" Yassen asked, though his tone suggested he knew the answer.

He man laughed again, just as cruelly as before, "Yes, you and the kid. Meet us at gym 4 tomorrow at 7pm. We have already arranged a pilot for you at that time. Understood?"

"Yes. We leave you now Brochette, Brown." He nodded, resting a hand on Alex's shoulder and leading him back towards their car, nodding in the direction of the two uglies.

When they were out of hearing range, Yassen ordered Alex to get into the car. He did so with no argument, but was watching Yassen very carefully. Yassen smiled what he guessed was supposed to be a 'don't worry' smile, but it just made him feel more uneasy.

Yassen watched as the two men started to drive away. There was a cliff to the right of their van.

Yassen shot the wheels of the van.

The van went off the side of the cliff. There was a moment of nothingness before a massive flame of gas blasted up into the air.

Alex sucked in a breath sharply and tried to keep his face as plain as possible as Yassen returned, slipping into the car and starting the car.

Alex rested his head on the side of the car again and tried not to think about it.

He couldn't tell Yassen that he had a problem with the fact that he had just mercilessly killed them. Every time he did so, Alex though it would get easier to accept it, but he just couldn't.

How was he going to do it himself?

Outside, he might seem cold, harsh and not bothered of killing. Inside, it was a different story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! Its me again! 2 updates in one day, high 5 to me! someone suggested I should do a Yassen POV, and thats exactly what I have done. I hope you like this, it shows what Yassen is thinking and maybe his character is a little different from what you first expected. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this ! and dont forget feedback!**

**Yassen POV**

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a softie. One wrong word and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot you in the head, and if you piss me off too much, in the stomach so you die a slow and painful death.

But I'm the guardian of a 13 kid. The son of my old, and now dead, mentor John Rider, or Hunter as I commonly called him. He was a martyr I guess, he protected people and protected me, guided me to keep me alive, and here I am now.

I'd say my life as an assassin was pretty easy. I raised Alex to be independent, and able to protect himself. In the middle of the night I slip out, do some rich guys dirty work (killing not what you're thinking….) and slip back in before he notices I'm even gone. If he knew, then he might stay awake, try to follow me, and get into shit so I figured that he was better off not knowing.

Every time I looked at him, I saw Hunter. Which made me feel regretful. Why? Because Scorpia forced me to lie to him about his parents. They said they needed him to be loyal to them, so we, I, brainwashed him into thinking his parents were both once members of MI6, who tried to train him. I told him that his mother was a loyal Scorpia agent and his father was a good for nothing jerk that worked for MI6, that she just used with sex to get into the core of MI6. Apparently, Scorpia rescued him when he was beginning to be trained, an influence of his father, as a debt to his mother.

Part of it was true. I was surveillance over him. I had always watched over him, should anyone try to kill him, but I stayed to the shadows. His mother was a nurse, not a deadly Scorpia agent who just had sex with his father to get into the core of MI6. His father was an MI6 agent who pretended to be part of Scorpia, who saved hundreds of lives, and then died with his wife.

The part that was true? MI6 did try to start to train him, and they would've succeeded no doubt.

However, part of me still wondered if it would've been better to let MI6 train him, to let that SAS unit protect him. They weren't doing a half bad job really.

I tried to push my thoughts away. One slip of the tongue and I would be dead before I could even blink. And then they'd use Alex like a machine till he literally was one.

I continued to drive along the dusty track in the Arizona desert. We weren't far from Jacksonville now. I knew a motel in the darker side of town that I planned to stay in for the night with Alex.

I wiped sweat from my brown. Despite the fact that the air conditioning was on full, it was still awfully hot in the car; a beat up peace of shit really. In the passenger seat, Alex was sleeping. He looked troubled, even in his sleep. I didn't know anything about kids, apart from Alex, who was admittedly an easy kid. I'd seen mothers and fathers in all parts of the world struggling with bratty 7 year olds, struggling with stroppy teens. Alex had always been quiet; something I figured my strict discipline helped with.

2o minutes later found my pulling into the car park outside the motel. Its sign was plain and out of the way, and it was cheap. Very cheap. Not that money was a problem. Scorpia funds paid for my living, and Alex's.

I got out of the car, shut the door and locked it.

I went inside the lobby. It was dimly lit, the walls were pale, sickly green and damp, black dots all over them from fungi. It distinctly smelt of cigarettes and alcohol. It was a dump. Less than 1 star.

"Fanning!" I shouted tonelessly. He would know my voice. No one ever forgets my cold Russian accent. Never.

The tusk less walrus himself came out to meet me. He was a slimy douche but with the right amount of…persuasion…he knew when to keep his ugly trap shut. His teeth were all yellow and black, and his breath so bad you could smell it from a smile away, as could you his BO body stench. His eyes were ugly, pale green like the walls of the room, and his hair was oily and gelled back, making him look even worse. He had a pig shaped face and a nose to match it. He was over-weight, his stomach bulging out of the bottom of the XXL t-shirt he wore.

I wasn't even sure he was human, even compared to the madmen I had come across in my career path.

"Ah. Gregorovitch. Long-time no see." He said, his grainy voice making me want to shoot him.

"I want a room, 2 beds. And a bathroom." I emotionlessly told him.

"Sure. Sure. That'll be 200 dollars." He smiled.

"I believe we agreed that when I slept here, I slept here free of charge." I told him, a deadly smile laced my lips. I was going to kill this man. He wouldn't be discovered until tomorrow morning, at about 8. I would be long gone by then, and someone else would be in my place as the murdered. Another slime ball from around here.

"Not any longer pal, times are hard." He grinned, but I knew he was just pissing me about.

That was a bad mistake.

"I'll put you out of your misery." I muttered, and before he had the time to even process what I had said, there was a knife flying with dead accuracy towards his throat.

It was a good thing I was feel particularly nice this evening and just wanted to get Alex inside, otherwise he would have had a considerably more painful, and way slower, death than the nice short one he just had. I lugged his body round the back of the tacky desk, took the key for room 4 and the key for the front door, slipping them in my pocket before walking back outside into the warm evening air to get Alex.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, me again **** I****'****ve changed my pen name to JellieButtons25 in case anyone is wondering.**

**Hope you enjoy this next chapter. I'm truly sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I have reasons that are personal, sorry anyways, …**

**A/N for anyone who reads Percy Jackson stories, or even if you don't, read this story : Percabeths Life by Percabeth's Daughter, truly a very good and enjoyable story**

_**Last time…**_

_(Yassen's POV)_

_"Ah. Gregorovitch. Long-time no see." He said, his grainy voice making me want to shoot him._

_"I want a room, 2 beds. And a bathroom." I emotionlessly told him._

_"Sure. Sure. That'll be 200 dollars." He smiled._

_"I believe we agreed that when I slept here, I slept here free of charge." I told him, a deadly smile laced my lips. I was going to kill this man. He wouldn't be discovered until tomorrow morning, at about 8. I would be long gone by then, and someone else would be in my place as the murdered. Another slime ball from around here._

_"Not any longer pal, times are hard." He grinned, but I knew he was just pissing me about._

_That was a bad mistake._

_"I'll put you out of your misery." I muttered, and before he had the time to even process what I had said, there was a knife flying with dead accuracy towards his throat._

_It was a good thing I was feel particularly nice this evening and just wanted to get Alex inside, otherwise he would have had a considerably more painful, and way slower, death than the nice short one he just had. I lugged his body round the back of the tacky desk, took the key for room 4 and the key for the front door, slipping them in my pocket before walking back outside into the warm evening air to get Alex._

**1 day later, 6:45pm**

(3rd person)

Alex frowned as they pulled into the near deserted dock yard. He was no lover of flying in the darkness, which was coming ever closer as they prepared for their flight across Atlantic. Thunder boomed, and he shivered, hoping that Yassen didn't see. The blonde boy turned his head and found that the man was looking across the sea, his emotionless mask in its usual place, his eyes the same icy blue.

If Yassen had seen his fear, he obviously wasn't in the mood to confront him about it right now.

Suddenly, a noise incredibly louder than the thunder buzzed, firstly in the distance but gradually becoming louder; and therefore closer. Alex concluded it must be their ride as he watched the seaplane descend to land in the water, beside the nearest pier to the right of them.

Yassen watched the seaplane land, and then turned to face him, leaning against the frame of the cheap car, the slightest of frowns on his face.

"Come Niall, we must leave immediately," he instructed Alex, slamming the car door so the car shook, and heading towards the dock, his stealthy gait considerably faster as the driver of the seaplane exited his drivers compartment onto the wooden pier.

Alex shut his door carefully, just in case the car broke, and followed suite after Yassen, slightly jogging to catch up with his parental figure and life tutor. He slowed his gait as he arrived at Yassen's side, and together they walked towards the driver, who was leaning against a pole, lighting a cigarette. Alex wrinkled his nose, and he swore he could see a slight hint of disapproval and distaste in Yassen's eyes, but it disappeared as soon as he reached the man.

"Evening, you are Lisbon and Forest, correct?" he asked, taking a puff of his cigarette. His accent was Greek, but he certainly didn't look the part of a stereotypical Greek guy.

The pilots hair was a pale shade of grey, with streaks of white in it, but was also rather greasy, combed to the side like that would help with the fact that he hadn't washed his hair in a while. He had a tall build, but was slightly chubby making him look generally weird, and he was certainly lacking the muscles he looked like he should have. What didn't help was the fact that he was wearing a skin tight shirt and skinny jeans, the 'No Fear' logo imprinted on the side, making him look rather… feminine. Despite this look, he had a moustache on his upper lip, and 3 day stubble on the lower half of his face.

This man had a prominent brow, and big, dark eyebrows to go with it, but pale green eyes, an ugly shade the Alex had never come across before, despite the fact that he had travelled so much and met lots and lots of different types of people, even if most of them were mad men or just sadists.

"Yes, that is us. We must leave now, do not smoke." Yassen told the pilot, his disgust for the cigarette now showing on his face.

The Pilot smiled greasily, then took another puff of his cigarette.

"Or what? I'm getting paid to fly you over to Europe, not to tell me whether or not I can smoke."

Yassen smiled menacingly, pulling out his shotgun and shooting the man in his forehead in one swift and graceful, yet terrible, movement.

Alex looked away as the man fell to their feet, eyes wide open and thoroughly dead, his blood just oozing from his forehead.

Yassen stamped on the burning cigarette, and moved over to the plane.

"Come Niall." He instructed simply.

Alex nodded and got into the vehicle, shutting the door of the copper behind him.

He gulped nervously.

**Comments are appreciated, thanks for reading this chapter. Next chapter hopefully up soon!**

**JellieButtons25**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11, I know I haven't posted in ages, I'm sorry, personal reasons of course. Hope this is okay :)**

* * *

><p>"Yes, that is us. We must leave now, do not smoke." Yassen told the pilot, his disgust for the cigarette now showing on his face.<p>

The Pilot smiled greasily, then took another puff of his cigarette.

"Or what? I'm getting paid to fly you over to Europe, not to tell me whether or not I can smoke."

Yassen smiled menacingly, pulling out his shotgun and shooting the man in his forehead in one swift and graceful, yet terrible, movement.

Alex looked away as the man fell to their feet, eyes wide open and thoroughly dead, his blood just oozing from his forehead.

Yassen stamped on the burning cigarette, and moved over to the plane.

"Come Niall." He instructed simply.

Alex nodded and got into the vehicle, shutting the door of the copper behind him.

He gulped nervously.

#JustALineBreakBringingYouBac kToReality#

24 Hours Later, (+1 hour from GMT London, +5 hours from DST Florida)

Alex dubiously watched Yassen from the small café table, looking out of the window over a medium sized town on the northern outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco. They had flown straight over the Atlantic in a near enough straight line, with minimum turbulence, much to Alex's relief. He was not a keen flyer, and had been very happy, though he had hidden it. Then they had landed last night at Casablanca Airport, he didn't know just how Yassen had managed to get clearance to land there, but he knew Yassen had a wide range of connections across the globe. Undoubtedly Yassen would have connections in Morocco; it was Northern Africa.

They had stayed in some Airport side motel for about 6 hours – he didn't sleep through all that due to jetlag- and then had gone to some place 20 minutes walk away where Yassen had conducted some 'business' that of course Alex was in no way allowed to overhear or be a part of- just yet.

After that they had then travelled in the car of a man he knew no name of, to a small, rundown looking office block on a corner of a busy street in the centre of Casablanca. Here, you could walk into the building above a fish and chip shop and know that passers-by would think nothing of it. The beauty of a disguise. The office was of course just one part of Scorpia, the agency Yassen worked for occasionally, the one that wanted Alex to complete an assassination for them.

He quickly turned his thoughts away from the killing, if he thought too deeply it would cloud his brain and he knew that he needed to be alert here.

Yassen had spoken to some 'cold looking people', as Alex had first thought in his head; before he had introduced them to Alex. They had all seemed interested to see Alex, though their tones gave nothing away, their facial expressions and body posture did.

He struggled to think of them as people most of the time. Their aura was one of ice, as were their eye. The eyes were the window to the soul indeed. It probably did sum up what they were really like, what they had done. They were ruthless killers.

He pondered for a second…would his eyes look like that? He caught his reflection, though misshapen, in the metal of a spoon in front of him- his eyes were chocolate brown and though guarded, they resembled nothing of the killers eyes.

Would that change?

His thoughts flickered back to Yassen; his eyes weren't those of a killers, they didn't possess that seemingly icy mad glint. They were just ice blue- that was their colour. Obviously Yassen was incredibly skilled in the art of hiding himself from the naked eye, and it did him well. After all, the man was still alive, and he had to be in his 30's by now. Alex knew better than to ask the man his age.

Alex didn't realise he was so out of it until Yassen banged his fist on the worn table, causing Alex to fall of his seat in surprise. Some people in the café looked, but no one really pays much attention to quiet teenagers when they fall off their chairs. He was grateful for that.

He hopped to his feet just as quickly as he had fallen, and turned to face Yassen as emotionlessly as he could; he'd been practising. But Alex knew that there was a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Foolish child. You could have been shot, or worse; kidnapped!" Yassen whispered cruelly. Alex was going to apologise, but the Russian assassin wasn't finished.

"You cannot think too much in a public place, or anywhere. You need to constantly keep your mind open and aware of your surroundings. Failure in this will result in your death, something no one needs right now," he was nearly growling, and Alex didn't think he had seen Yassen this out right angry.

Part of Alex's teenager brain mulled over the fact that maybe dying was the best way to go before he ended up where he was heading, but the controlled a part of his mind, the part matured beyond his years, told himself not to be stupid, and to focus on Yassen's words.

"…Niall. We are going to the hotel room now. You need to sleep and I have business to attend to. Come now," the man said lowly, standing to his feet and leaving money of the correct currency on the table where Alex's abandoned tea stayed, stone cold.


	12. My apologies, not a chapter

**Unfortunately, this story is going onto Hiatus. This is not permanent, and hopefully I will be able to update soon, so keep me on your story alert! Until next time,**

**Thanks for your support,**

**Jellie **


End file.
